Bringing a new puppy home from the kennel for the first time is a wonderful experience.

A puppy starts learning about you and what you want on your very first contact, and it is important to start out on the right foot when it comes to potty training puppies.

Allowing bad habits to begin will only result in more challenges to training the puppy, as he or she will have to both unlearn bad habits and re-learn desired behaviors.

By starting with potty training right from the start, the puppy is better able to understand what you want, and will establish your relationship with the puppy as the leader.

WHEN TO START

Puppies will usually be removed from their mother’s care and given to new owners when they are between six to eight weeks of age. Puppies, even this young and small, can begin to be potty trained from the moment that they arrive at your house.

Puppies at the age of less than ten weeks usually will need to either urinate or defecate every two to three hours. By taking your puppy outside prior to these time limits, the puppy will learn to relieve him or herself outside, and will also become comfortable with the feel of the lawn or concrete under their feet when they are relieving themselves.

This is big component of potty training a puppy, as they will begin to associate the feel of the ground surface outside with going to the bathroom, and the surface of the floor inside as playing and resting – but more importantly not toileting.

If you are able to prevent the puppy from having accidents in the house, he or she will not develop the habit, and will be much easier to potty train than a puppy that is allowed to soil in the house initially and then potty trained later.

It is important to remember that puppies, like babies, have very small bladders and stomachs and have poor muscle control.

They cannot be expected to walk far or delay having to go, so proper house preparation is important.